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6 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Is Shaya really worth visiting when Zahav is somewhat close to home?  I'm booking restaurants for Prez Day weekend.....

Staying in French Quarter, thoughts on where to go? Been to most of the usual suspects.

No

Rec's outside of the usual suspects:

Mopho

Red's Chinese

Crabby Jack's

Shyan's Ktchen

Bacchanal

Turkey and the Wolf

LA Smokehouse

Sammy's Foodservice

Little Korea

Melba's

Cajun's Seafood

Lil Dizzy's

and of course, if you're in the mood for a wonderfully scenic drive and a bucolic lakeside meal, Off the Dock Seafood (previously The Crab Trap)

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What are the usual suspects around the French Quarter-ish? I have one meal coming up on Tuesday where I have to pick a place. I want it to be somewhere I haven't tried, and right now Luke is the leading choice. I have done or will have done Domenica, Cochon, August, Herbsaint, and Galatoire's.

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On November 10, 2016 at 11:36 PM, frogprince said:

Say hi next time! Just kidding but next time say hi to Jason for us, we don't get to see him as much as we should. Or just come down to Herbsaint...

I did, even if they didn't! Had a marvelous marvelous dinner at the bar on Monday.

(And I actually tried to say hi to you, as my friend Jaime told me to, but you weren't there.)

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On 12/4/2016 at 2:53 PM, Ericandblueboy said:

Brunch - Toup's South, R'evolution (repeat visit)

Dinner - Angeline, Peche (repeat visit)

Lunch - Meril

If any of these places are no good, pleas let me know.  

Angeline and Peche are both wonderful, I've not been to Toup's South but have been underwhelmed by the original in the past (I've not been in well over a here though, so...) However you will be in the decidedly different museum that is the Southern Food and Beverage, which you can (naturally) peruse with a cocktail from Toups in yer hand, so, you know, there's that. 

Haven't been to R'evolution, bit too high falootin' for my tastes, though that's obviously just a personal thang. Heard laughable things bout Meril but that was during their soft opening so presumably those issues should've been addressed by now. 
 

Happy gut hunting!

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They say you gain a pound a day in New Orleans, and I did, despite having done 5 walking tours and spent most of my remaining time walking.

First, Toups South for lunch on Saturday.  Isaac Toups was in the kitchen (he was on Top Chef), but his celebrity status did not draw a crowd on NBA All-Star weekend to this non-central location (it's between CBD and Garden District).  In fact, the restaurant was eerily empty.  I ordered smoked lamb, goat tamales, roasted oysters, and pork rinds.  They also offered cracklins.  I had to ask the difference between cracklins and pork rinds - apparently cracklins have skin, fat and a little meat (in Spanglish, I would call it chicharrones, but then others use the term chicharrones for pork rinds).  I loved the goat tamales - the slight gaminess of the goat, bam, kicked the flavor up a notch.  The smoked lamb was thinly sliced and served cold, topped with pickled vegetables - enjoyable but nothing spectacular.  The oysters were topped with too much bread crumbs.  The pork rinds came out hot - I left no crumbs behind.

Dinner on Saturday was at Angeline in French Quarter.  This place was close to my hotel.  I ordered more roasted oysters, rabbit Milanese, and some greens.  These oysters were topped with herbsaint butter, bottarga, herbs, and cornbread crumbs - I liked them better than Toups.  Unfortunately, rabbit Milanese is as boring as chicken Milanese. 

On Sunday, I went to Bourbon House, a Dickie Brennan joint in FQ on Bourbon St. for brunch.  I started with a small fruits de mer, with oysters (topped with caviar), boiled shrimp, seasoned and marinated blue crab claws (called crab fingers), some kind of Asian influenced crab salad, and some kind of shrimp salad.  The only thing that I didn't like was the shrimp salad, which was kind of ceviched but tasted overcooked.  I also didn't eat all the shrimps, because I wanted to try the DES ALLEMANDS FISH CAMP PO-BOY with fried Des Allemands catfish, caviar ranch, bacon, lettuce, tomato (I told them to hold the fried egg).  There's something magical about po-boys in New Orleans...makes me want to eat the whole thing but I stopped myself, hence gaining only 1 lb per day.

Sunday night, I went to Compere Lapin, Nina Compton's restaurant in the CBD, conveniently close to the casino.  Nina worked at Scarpetta (Scott Conant) and then went on Top Chef.  She's from St. Lucia so this restaurant is a blend of Caribbean, Italian and southern.  So I had some spiced fried pigs ears as a snack, followed by scialatielli with clams and shrimp, and then curried goat with sweet potato gnocchi.  Everything was delicious - this is what I had hoped Tails Up Goat would be - interesting food with strong Caribbean influence. 

Monday morning, I had to eat a muffaletta, and wash it down with some Abita.  I went to Café Maspero, near Jackson Square.  I only had half a sandwich, because I wanted to eat lunch too, at Domenica.  As usual in New Orleans, the squid ink pasta was overcooked, but the crab meat and sauce tasted excellent.  By the way, Compere Lapin did not overcook the scialatielli.  Dinner was a shrimp po-boy from Copeland's in terminal C - pretty damn good for airport food. 

I rode the street car for the first time.  Each ride is $1.25, and you can pay with exact change while boarding.  The alternative is to download an app from the transit authority.  For $3/day, plus $.50 convenience fee, you can buy an all day ticket via the app, just show your ticket while boarding.  Very easy to use. 

 

 

 

 

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We went to the original Toups Meatery last year when visiting during Easter weekend. It was before he opened his second location and his Top Chef appearance had just concluded a few months prior. Restaurant was not crowded on a Friday night (it was a hike from the CBD, definitely had more of a neighborhood restaurant vibe). We sat right near the kitchen window and he was in the kitchen expediting orders. Tons of people came up to talk to him, some seemed like regulars and some Top Chef fans. As a big fan of the program my wife encouraged me to go up and say hi, which I did, and he couldn't have been nicer or more gracious. And man, those cracklins' are insanely delicious. Basically like lightly battered little cubes of pork belly. His boudin balls were great, too.

 

We're visiting my sister in Shreveport tomorrow for Mardi Gras weekend and I can't wait for some good Louisiana cooking.

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On 4/6/2017 at 8:58 AM, mr food said:

Off to French Quarter Fest tomorrow so any updates appreciated. We've booked a few places-Shaya, Sylvain, Clancys for a family dinner Monday. 

How was it!?! Every year, I'm always surprised how good Rouses' Crawfish are..

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The fest was a blast and the food booths were excellent. While we enjoyed our meals at Shaya, Sylvain and Clancys it reminded me how far our area has come in terms of quality dining. Shaya was probably our least favorite, Zaytinya overall does this type of cuisine better. The room also was extremely loud and affected our enjoyment of the meal. 

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We just got back from a NOLA based cruise and caught meals at Herbsaint, Cochon, Toups, Le Petit Grocery, and Peche.  We liked Herbsaint and we're really impressed by the rest.  DC has a few restaurants that are on par, but at higher price points and harder to get reservations.  We also liked the fact that the food is well seasoned and spicy.

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Went this weekend, and had a really nice time, as usual. City keeps changing, and it's not the place that I lived in before the storm. Some things are better, some things are worse, but both the potholes and cockroaches remain large.

Before dinner, we went to Cure on Freret, was kicking there. Had a refreshing Rainwater Madeira and Tonic; they had happy hour for all their classic cocktails. Nice crowd. Oh, Freret St. is totally different. So many places to eat and drink, shops. Pretty cool. 

Then we went to dinner at Gautreau's, which I have never been to, even after living there for years, and visiting many times afterwards. It's uptown, in a cute unlabeled house. You wouldn't even know there was a restaurant there. It's old school New Orleans in there, well dressed servers, old couples, people on dates, and larger groups, too. We had cocktails and wine before starting the meal. I wasn't picking the wines, so I have no idea, I just know our host got one bottle of Malbec and one bottle of a BIG Cab Sav. Most of us got the special appetizer - half a soft shell crab in a spicy crab bique. Mmmm... Lady got  marinated Hamachi. She liked it a lot. I got red snapper and it was done well, with some crispy skin that I loved. She got the chicken, and it was a HUGE portion. A few people got the duck and appeared to like it. We got Vanilla Creme Brulee and devoured it. They just do the caramelization better down here. 

Brunch was at Atchafalaya, a pretty hoppin' spot. We didn't have reservations - just got there at opening (already a line) and got seated at the bar. Would have waited about 20 minutes to get a table. This is place is great - heavy, heavy - but great. Bloody Mary's are awesome, they have a make your own bar, but the house mix is pretty perfect - I didn't add a thing. We got alligator sausage to start, and that just tasted kind of porky to me, but she thought it had a unique taste to it. She got the Eggs Treme. When she ordered it, couldn't help but chuckle, because she said "I'll get the 'extreme'" ... being somewhat local, I knew it as Egg "Truh-meh", but when I looked it on the menu, I bet 90% of out of towners would say "extreme". Anyway, it was poached eggs, boudin, hollandaise, and french bread. RICH. Boudin in NOLA can be softer than other places you may have had it, and I think the texture was unexpected for her. I got the crawfish etoufee omelette. Pretty awesome.

Walked it off, and got coffee at HiVolt in the Lower Garden District by my old Magazine St apartment (one of the most glorious shit holes I've ever lived in). They did all the fancy stuff, I got an Oji brewed ice coffee. It was really tasty until I put cream in it. Then the taste got bitter. We walked all over, and then went to the best place of the weekend, but going there led to us missing a great meal... We went to Mid City to Bayou Beer Garden. That place is amazing. Huge patio, 3 patios basically that are interconnected. The other end of the beer garden is Bayou Wine Garden, with many wines on tap, and a Frose' coming out of a Daquiri machine. It was so hot, but the fans and the cover made it pretty comfortable and we just had a ball. There was a gal in the parking lot boiling up crawfish, and you could buy some from her and eat at the beer garden. $12 for 3 pounds, including corn, sausage, and potatoes. SO GOOD. We were there long enough to get hungry again, so we went to Parkway Bakery and Tavern, another legendary place I'd never gone to. I got the fried shrimp, and she got the "surf and turf" with roast beef and gravy topped with fried shrimp. Amazing. Just amazing. 

So, we had a res for Shaya... but after the afternoon we had, needed to take a nap. Ended up turning off the alarm and not getting up til almost 10. Missed our meal! Ended up at Cooter Brown's. Not as good as I remembered... but nice to reminisce. 

 

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On 5/30/2017 at 1:20 PM, Simul Parikh said:

Went this weekend, and had a really nice time, as usual. City keeps changing, and it's not the place that I lived in before the storm. Some things are better, some things are worse, but both the potholes and cockroaches remain large.

Before dinner, we went to Cure on Freret, was kicking there. Had a refreshing Rainwater Madeira and Tonic; they had happy hour for all their classic cocktails. Nice crowd. Oh, Freret St. is totally different. So many places to eat and drink, shops. Pretty cool. 

Then we went to dinner at Gautreau's, which I have never been to, even after living there for years, and visiting many times afterwards. It's uptown, in a cute unlabeled house. You wouldn't even know there was a restaurant there. It's old school New Orleans in there, well dressed servers, old couples, people on dates, and larger groups, too. We had cocktails and wine before starting the meal. I wasn't picking the wines, so I have no idea, I just know our host got one bottle of Malbec and one bottle of a BIG Cab Sav. Most of us got the special appetizer - half a soft shell crab in a spicy crab bique. Mmmm... Lady got  marinated Hamachi. She liked it a lot. I got red snapper and it was done well, with some crispy skin that I loved. She got the chicken, and it was a HUGE portion. A few people got the duck and appeared to like it. We got Vanilla Creme Brulee and devoured it. They just do the caramelization better down here. 

Brunch was at Atchafalaya, a pretty hoppin' spot. We didn't have reservations - just got there at opening (already a line) and got seated at the bar. Would have waited about 20 minutes to get a table. This is place is great - heavy, heavy - but great. Bloody Mary's are awesome, they have a make your own bar, but the house mix is pretty perfect - I didn't add a thing. We got alligator sausage to start, and that just tasted kind of porky to me, but she thought it had a unique taste to it. She got the Eggs Treme. When she ordered it, couldn't help but chuckle, because she said "I'll get the 'extreme'" ... being somewhat local, I knew it as Egg "Truh-meh", but when I looked it on the menu, I bet 90% of out of towners would say "extreme". Anyway, it was poached eggs, boudin, hollandaise, and french bread. RICH. Boudin in NOLA can be softer than other places you may have had it, and I think the texture was unexpected for her. I got the crawfish etoufee omelette. Pretty awesome.

Walked it off, and got coffee at HiVolt in the Lower Garden District by my old Magazine St apartment (one of the most glorious shit holes I've ever lived in). They did all the fancy stuff, I got an Oji brewed ice coffee. It was really tasty until I put cream in it. Then the taste got bitter. We walked all over, and then went to the best place of the weekend, but going there led to us missing a great meal... We went to Mid City to Bayou Beer Garden. That place is amazing. Huge patio, 3 patios basically that are interconnected. The other end of the beer garden is Bayou Wine Garden, with many wines on tap, and a Frose' coming out of a Daquiri machine. It was so hot, but the fans and the cover made it pretty comfortable and we just had a ball. There was a gal in the parking lot boiling up crawfish, and you could buy some from her and eat at the beer garden. $12 for 3 pounds, including corn, sausage, and potatoes. SO GOOD. We were there long enough to get hungry again, so we went to Parkway Bakery and Tavern, another legendary place I'd never gone to. I got the fried shrimp, and she got the "surf and turf" with roast beef and gravy topped with fried shrimp. Amazing. Just amazing. 

So, we had a res for Shaya... but after the afternoon we had, needed to take a nap. Ended up turning off the alarm and not getting up til almost 10. Missed our meal! Ended up at Cooter Brown's. Not as good as I remembered... but nice to reminisce. 

 

Dat's an itinerary dere chere!

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I am in New Orleans unexpectedly as a Hurricane Irma evacuee. My sister and I went on a tour sponsored by the Beauregard-Keyes House and lead by Loyola Professor Justin Nystrom of the "Sicilian French Quarter." The Sicilians established themselves in  New Orleans starting in the 1800's with the lemon trade, which expanded to include bananas, and eventually most imported produce. Nystrom posits that the Italians, who brought their native foods (spaghetti, cheese) and who created the wealth that funded the establishment of many food related businesses, are largely responsible for making New Orleans a restaurant city. 

I was born here, and much of this information was new to me. Fascinating. Great stories of places like Brocatos and Turci's, and insights into issues such as the true origins of the iconic mufaletta (NOT the invention of Central Grocery). 

Nystrom has a book coming out in February on the Sicilian Influences on New Orleans food culture. I can't wait to read it. 

http://www.bkhouse.org/

http://cas.loyno.edu/history/bios/justin-nystrom

 

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Another dispatch from my hurricane Irma evacuation to New Orleans:  i'm met high school friends (we just had our 40th reunion!) at Café Reconcile in the central city, an area that would have been off-limits to most sensible people a decade ago.  The entire area is experiencing a rebirth, and part of that is this café which is part of an extensive program to help young people break the cycle of poverty.  Regardless of the mission, the place serves yummy, straightforward Southern food in a bright, comfortable space.  Noise levels make for easy conversation, and the pleasant young people working create hope for the future.  Portions are generous and prices are gentle.  Everyone eating there seemed satisfied and happy.  Good food for a great cause!

https://www.cafereconcile.org/about/

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22 hours ago, frogprince said:

Happy Bacchus Sunday y'all!!! 🍾

 

1 hour ago, NolaCaine said:

Happy Lundi Gras y'all.

These are the two days of the year that I most resent working. 

It's 11:25 am and there is not fruit juice full of rum anywhere near me. :-(

Question for the New Orleans experts here.  Any recommendations on where to take a 17 year old who could use some fun after a rough few weeks?  We've already got a nice meal planned - and I'm sure it will be fun - at Herbsaint, but are there any places that I should hit up more for the fun aspect?  This is not for Mardi Gras celebrations, so I'm expecting things will have died down.

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NO is one of those cities designed to walk so here are some walks/things to do:
1. Walk down by the river. The ferry from NO to Algiers point used to be free to pedestrians. If it's not, it's likely cheap. 

2. Walk the French Quarter. St. Anne's sort of marks the start of the gay side of the quarter.

3. French market: It's in the Quarter, near the river.

4. Get on the street car and go to city park...see art, walk the park. 

5.  Look at antiques and art on Royal. or ...art and random crap on Magazine.

6. Do the Zoo, Aquarium, museums. (FYI: after I grew up I realized that the NO aquarium is some sort of tax break/media thing for big oil. It's got this reef made out of an oil platform so forget about the dangers of drilling in the gulf...fish can live here!)

7. St. Louis Cathedral is always open and does free tours throughout the day.

(if it's not obvious, all this stuff is free or really low cost with the exception of #6. I wasn't exactly affluent when I lived in NO).

"It's Fudge TIme" = free fudge after watching the guys make it.

Please don't eat at Mother's.

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3 hours ago, zgast said:

 

Question for the New Orleans experts here.  Any recommendations on where to take a 17 year old who could use some fun after a rough few weeks?  We've already got a nice meal planned - and I'm sure it will be fun - at Herbsaint, but are there any places that I should hit up more for the fun aspect?  This is not for Mardi Gras celebrations, so I'm expecting things will have died down.

You didn't say 17 year old boy or girl?  I know what I wanted when I was 17....

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Take the streetcar, the Carrollton Avenue line, to City park which is the end of the line.  The park is tropical and beautiful, the sculpture garden is world class, and there is a morning call coffee stand right across from the sculpture garden where you can sit and have a drink and a snack under centuries old oak trees.  You can rent bikes at the park, and there is a very cool miniature golf course near the parking lot in the center, close to the coffee shop.

A 17-year-old might very well be interested in many of the art galleries, and a lot of the musical performances that take place as early shows are open to all ages.

Depending on the time of the year and your interest, you can go to the horse races at the Fairgrounds, which is very near city park.  No matter when you were there, there is likely to be some festival… Get the local entertainment newspaper called Gambit.  It will have a list of all of the events going on in the city. 

 If you want a super great tour, one of my great friends runs 504 Tours. Check it out. 

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On 2/12/2018 at 1:46 PM, NolaCaine said:

NO is one of those cities designed to walk so here are some walks/things to do:
1. Walk down by the river. The ferry from NO to Algiers point used to be free to pedestrians. If it's not, it's likely cheap. 

2. Walk the French Quarter. St. Anne's sort of marks the start of the gay side of the quarter.

3. French market: It's in the Quarter, near the river.

4. Get on the street car and go to city park...see art, walk the park. 

5.  Look at antiques and art on Royal. or ...art and random crap on Magazine.

6. Do the Zoo, Aquarium, museums. (FYI: after I grew up I realized that the NO aquarium is some sort of tax break/media thing for big oil. It's got this reef made out of an oil platform so forget about the dangers of drilling in the gulf...fish can live here!)

7. St. Louis Cathedral is always open and does free tours throughout the day.

(if it's not obvious, all this stuff is free or really low cost with the exception of #6. I wasn't exactly affluent when I lived in NO).

"It's Fudge TIme" = free fudge after watching the guys make it.

Please don't eat at Mother's.

Thanks for this. Going to New Orleans at the end of March for my bachelorette weekend. Have dinner plans at Coquette and Peche. Will probably wing the day time meals. Any other suggestions on where to eat and drink and what to do do during the day other than eat and drink would be much appreciated.

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My pleasure.

How about lunch or brunch here:  http://www.galatoires.com/

Sunday brunch is a family affair. Bar opens one hour before kitchen and it is a scene.

Historic tasting = http://www.antoines.com/ and https://www.arnaudsrestaurant.com/. DO a drink and app at each. (pronounced ARE-Nos)

IMO best mufalatta is Napoleon House but that can also cause massive fights http://www.napoleonhouse.com/

Herbsaint has a great rep but I haven't been because I just go back to the old places I used to frequent. However, Now that I am boycotting August, I;ll try to make it there next (as yet unplanned) trip.

Have fun! As a bachelorette, everybody is going to hit on you, possibly even gay men and straight women.

 

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On 2/17/2018 at 12:19 PM, eatruneat said:

Thanks for this. Going to New Orleans at the end of March for my bachelorette weekend. Have dinner plans at Coquette and Peche. Will probably wing the day time meals. Any other suggestions on where to eat and drink and what to do do during the day other than eat and drink would be much appreciated.

Crawfish will be in full swing then so you should definitely hit up Bevi in midcity, Harbor out by the airport (always my first stop when coming back home), Clesi's, also in midcity, should be done with renovations by then - all have excellent crawfish and are close enough to get to easily

For lunch/afternoon 

Cochon Butcher has excellent sandwiches though is always packed

Pho Tau Bay has the best Vietnamese if you don't want to trek out to New Orleans East or the Westbank- it's across the street from Charity Hospital on Tulane

Marjie's Grill on Broad by the courthouse is a rad place to jam (yes the owners are dear friends of mine but the food is dat damn good)

Finally, shameless self promotion: go to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art to see my wife then sit on the patio at Herbsaint and watch the streetcar roll by and the sazeracs flow... 

⚜️

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On 2/17/2018 at 1:51 PM, NolaCaine said:

My pleasure.

How about lunch or brunch here:  http://www.galatoires.com/

Sunday brunch is a family affair. Bar opens one hour before kitchen and it is a scene.

Historic tasting = http://www.antoines.com/ and https://www.arnaudsrestaurant.com/. DO a drink and app at each. (pronounced ARE-Nos)

IMO best mufalatta is Napoleon House but that can also cause massive fights http://www.napoleonhouse.com/

Herbsaint has a great rep but I haven't been because I just go back to the old places I used to frequent. However, Now that I am boycotting August, I;ll try to make it there next (as yet unplanned) trip.

Have fun! As a bachelorette, everybody is going to hit on you, possibly even gay men and straight women.

 

Lunch st Galatoire's is a must- I vastly prefer Arnaud's to Antoine's but that is just me being me

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Thanks all for the recommendations - not surprisingly we ate well.

Was a bit surprised that the daughter chose the Zoo, but we actually had a blast there.  Of course we also walked through the French Quarter and Market as well. Fortunately, I'm going to have many opportunities to visit again over the next few years.

Oh - and Galatoire's is going to have to wait.  Was not about bringing a coat and tie with me on this trip.

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On 2/17/2018 at 1:19 PM, eatruneat said:

Thanks for this. Going to New Orleans at the end of March for my bachelorette weekend. Have dinner plans at Coquette and Peche. Will probably wing the day time meals. Any other suggestions on where to eat and drink and what to do do during the day other than eat and drink would be much appreciated.

My fiancee is going the weekend before for her stag, too. I don't know what they have planned, I think her Maid of Honor is like "Simul, shut up already, I got this". But, if you've read the thread - I'll again recommend Friday Galatoire's lunch. So so so fun. Bayou Beer Garden is awesome when the weather is nice, it has an adjoining wine garden, and crawfish in the parking lot. That would be so fun for a group! Coquette is awesome. Mahoney's Po Boy's are still great. So are the po boys at Domilise's, that's one of my favorites. The line can be long but it's super social, and you can have one of you run in and get drinks while you wait. If you like oysters, Luke's has a great happy hour in the CBD. The Columns Hotel on St. Charles is still really fun in the early evening/happy hour. It's takes up a lot of real estate of your time, but a swamp tour about 40 minutes away is pretty fun, usually you get some Boudreaux or Thibodeux telling great stories and the boat ride is a hoot. For partying, maybe you gals will want to carouse and dance? Cat's Meow for ridiculous karaoke, Pat O's for .. I mean you have to go there, the Gold Mine for dancing, Bourbon Pub for dancing, Blue Nile for live music and dancing (or anywhere on Frenchman St). 

Now I'm second guessing my choice ...  

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We'll be in town in June.

I'll read through this thread later. 

Having said that, what is the one restaurant we should have dinner at that isn't Galatoire's/Antoine's/Commander's Palace or is a place involved with John Besh? (We're already reserved at Galatoire's and I'm avoiding Besh's restaurants in light of events from last year.)

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On 3/5/2018 at 4:05 PM, Simul Parikh said:

Couple less talked about, but as good as those mentioned

Gautreau's - cute old house, amazing food and service

Clancy's - neighborhood, elevated, great service, as well

Brigsten's - pretty much epitome of classic upscale NOLA

Yes, yes and yes!!!! Clancy's is probably my favorite joint

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On 3/5/2018 at 1:40 PM, TrelayneNYC said:

We'll be in town in June.

I'll read through this thread later. 

Having said that, what is the one restaurant we should have dinner at that isn't Galatoire's/Antoine's/Commander's Palace or is a place involved with John Besh? (We're already reserved at Galatoire's and I'm avoiding Besh's restaurants in light of events from last year.)

Jake Parrott loves Galatoire's - hopefully he'll see this, and since he's been here so often, maybe he can help.

Which reminds me: Jake once brought me back a Muffaletta from Central Grocery & Deli (which I still appreciate, btw, and remember as if it were yesterday) and the Muffaletta was ... awesome. Enough for at least three full meals - even if you only buy it to take a few nibbles, it's something you need to try, if only for culinary history.

If only I could hire some people - I'd *love* to have a NOLA forum.

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10 hours ago, DonRocks said:

 

If only I could hire some people - I'd *love* to have a NOLA forum.

Possibly reach out to @MBK? She has since moved to the New Orleans, and I recall her being rather hungry and adventurous in the dining scene when she was living in the DMV. Its worth asking. I recently reached out to here through this forum to reconnect, and she happily responded. So maybe if you reach out to her, she may consider it.

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11 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Which reminds me: Jake once brought me back a Muffaletta from Central Grocery & Deli (which I still appreciate, btw, and remember as if it were yesterday) and the Muffaletta was ... awesome. Enough for at least three full meals - even if you only buy it to take a few nibbles, it's something you need to try, if only for culinary history.

I am going to add "get muffaletta for plane ride back to DC" on my list. T-15 days until a weekend of gluttony.

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33 minutes ago, eatruneat said:

I am going to add "get muffaletta for plane ride back to DC" on my list. T-15 days until a weekend of gluttony.

and grab a couple of bags of Zapp's Chips as well. I recommend the Voodoo and Dill Gator Taters. 

BTW, they have some muffalettas already packaged up to go in styrofoam packaging, but it's cheaper to just get a regular sandwich and keep it in the plastic shopping bag they give you. I shove that in my backpack every time and have never had an issue with it.

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Central’s is very salty. And a lot of people like that. But, even compared to NJ/Philly Italian style sandwiches, this will taste very salty. 

Irene’s was so old school! I’m going to try Mosca’s next time I go down, subject of an old Trillin New Yorker article. Sounds super fun but it’s on the West Bank which makes it tough for tourists. 

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We went to Dom's in 2016 for a half and half (shrimp/oyster). Still talking about it. I'd be surprised if it were closed. That would have been news. YES, off the beaten path but the neighborhood felt totally safe to me.

I am no poboy expert, me, but I liked Johnny's in the French Quarter roast beef better than Parkway's.

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16 hours ago, NolaCaine said:

Do us a favor and try both Central and Napoleon House. I've given my vote...

Just to be clear: I haven't been to NOLA in almost thirty years, and I have no knowledge of Napoleon House. I'm not claiming Central is the best in NOLA; I'm claiming it's the best I've ever had (*big* difference). Jake was kind enough to bring this back for me, and I thought I'd mention it - the only "real" Muffaletta I remember having in the DC area (I don't consider David Guas' Muff-a-lotta real, although I really like it) is at The Italian Store, so my personal experience with this sandwich is very limited. Note to Simul: Every Muffaletta (several) I've ever tried has been viciously salty, except for Guas' relatively tame version). Who knows? Maybe Guas' is the real thing, and I've been groomed into thinking these are supposed to be gigantic salt-bombs.

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